Parliament will see the Assisted Dying Bill be passed through its hallowed halls for the first time in six years, next week.
Social media is rife with people’s opinions and thoughts regarding this topic, a subject which certainly divides people but we take a look at what the Assisted Dying Bill really is and what it would mean for our country if it was passed.
What is the Assisted Dying Bill?
If the Assisted Dying Bill was passed, it would allow terminally ill adults the option of legally seeking assistance to end their lives.
In this situation, this would mean those wanting to end their life would be provided with life-ending medication, to take themselves. That is of course, if two doctors are satisfied that they met all of the relevant safeguards.
They would need to be of sound mind, be terminally ill and have only six months or less left to live. A High Court judge would also have to be satisfied that they had made a voluntary decision equipped with time to consider all of their options.
This law is what campaigning organisation, Dignity in Dying, campaigns for - something which is based on a law that has been in place in Oregon, USA for almost 25 years.
It has also since been adopted in 10 other USA jurisdictions, five Australian states and will next month extend to New Zealand.
Sarah Wootton, Chief Executive of Dignity in Dying, said: “Much has changed in the six years since Parliament last debated assisted dying proposals.
“More than 200 million people worldwide now live in jurisdictions that offer true choice at the end of life to their citizens, including an ever-growing number of American and Australian states and next month the whole of New Zealand.
“There is mounting evidence that proves these laws can provide compassion to dying people who want this option, alongside robust protection for everyone else.
“Medical opinion has also shifted dramatically. More doctors now personally support law change than oppose it, and the British Medical Association and Royal College of Physicians have dropped their long standing opposition to assisted dying in favour of a neutral stance, understanding that their patients should come first in this debate.
“Ultimately this is a matter for society, and society is clearly losing out under the current law.
"How can it be claimed that the ban on assisted dying is working well, when every day 17 people suffer in pain as they die despite good care, when every year hundreds resort to ending their own lives at home and dozens are forced to seek solace in Switzerland’s compassionate laws?
“Parliamentarians are increasingly taking note of the failures of the current law and momentum for change is building right across the British Isles.”
The second reading
The second reading of the bill is taking place in the House of Lords on October 22.
Sarah explains the process in which this will happen. She said: “Next week the House of Lords will debate the Assisted Dying Bill brought by our chair Baroness Meacher, a public consultation is underway on a similar bill in Holyrood, and a debate is due in the States of Jersey next month after a citizen’s jury overwhelmingly recommended law change on the island.”
Despite people’s beliefs surrounding the subject on both sides, only the House of Lords has the power to possibly implement a change in the law.
Speaking of the reasons behind the campaign from Dignity in Dying, Sarah added: “For the dying people we speak to everyday denied a real say over their death and for the bereaved relatives who’ve witnessed traumatic deaths, this will mean the world.
“We all benefit under an assisted dying law - it represents an insurance policy against unbearable suffering as we die, whatever we might ultimately choose.”
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